Rest in peace, Bobby Thomson

Bobby Thomsondied today at age 86, but his memory will live on as long as the game of baseball is played. It was Thomson who hit “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” in 1951, a home run that lifted the New York Giants over the Brooklyn Dodgers and into the World Series.

That blast over the left field wall at the Polo Grounds in New York sparked the ebullient call of Giants’ announcer Russ Hodges: “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!” It’s one of the most dramatic and famous moments in all of sports — and broadcasting — history.